The Karnataka budget will be presented at around noon today after legislative party meetings by the Congress, JDS and BJP. The Congress issued a whip requiring all its lawmakers to abide by directives, failing which they would be disqualified and banned from contesting polls for the next six years. Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah also directed four dissenting Congress lawmakers to attend a Congress Legislature Party meeting today, warning of action as per the anti-defection law.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has tried to woo the rebel Congress lawmakers with prime positions in the government, ahead of the Karnataka Budget.
Among the beneficiaries of this move are lawmakers Pratap Gowda Patil, Basaveshwaranagar Daddal and MA Gopalaswamy. While Mr Daddal has been appointed as chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Welfare Board, Mr Gopalaswamy is the new parliamentary secretary to Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar.
Disgrunted lawmaker Umesh Jadhav -- found to be absenting himself from Congress Legislative Party meetings despite repeated warnings -- has been replaced by Mr Patil as the chairman of the Warehouse Corporation.
Mr Kumaraswamy addressed the media, before the budget instead of after as usually happens, in which he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. He also played audio which says BS Yeddyurappa spoke to lawmakers and their family members to win them over.
Mr Gowda, who was earlier said to be missing, is in a hospital in Mumbai.